The most unlucky Lord of the Rings characters.

Key conclusions

• The characters in Middle-earth experience endless misfortunes, facing death, torture and psychological turmoil.
• Beren, Maedras, Frodo, Hurin, and others face a grim fate despite their noble efforts.
• Gandalf, Éowyn and Gollum also experience deep loneliness, imprisonment, grief and a tragic ending.

The realm of Middle-earth is full of humans, elves, dwarves, hobbits and many other creatures. They all face their own challenges as minions of evil seek to take over their world. Difficulties are a natural part of life and some have it worse than others.

Certain figures of The Lord of the Rings The universe seems to experience endless misery. They lose their loved ones and go through years of psychological trauma, or experience torture and finally death on their already tragic epitaphs. J. R. R. Tolkien drew inspiration from the classical epics of ancient Greece and biblical tales of pain and redemption, and his modern interpretation makes Middle-earth seem like a truly hellish place.

Updated November 19, 2024 by Christy Ambrose: Everyone has to go through hard times at some point, but as Gandalf said, no one can make that choice. We must make the best of the time we are given. To put this in a more realistic context, it's important to remember that Tolkien lived through the war and some of his children followed him to the battlefield. It's not hard to see the anti-war message in LotR, especially since war always scars the people and the land for generations. These circumstances often lead to unfortunate turns of fate for Tolkein's characters. They are some of the most unlucky people in fiction, but they persevere anyway, taking Gandalf's words of wisdom to heart.

7 Beren

An early incarnation of Aragorn

• Appears in: The Silmarillion

Despite being the subject of an iconic love story, Beren faces countless obstacles on his way. He comes from a noble family of Men, but this nobility does not last. Margoth's armies defeat Beren's kinsmen in the decisive battle for Dagor-Bragalach. From here, the hero becomes an outlaw, scavenging for scraps in the desert and striking at enemies from the shadows. A light in the darkness appears when he meets and falls in love with an elf girl Lúthien, but this leads to further struggles.

Her father, King Dariath Thingol, refuses to allow his daughter to marry Beren until the groom obtains the legendary Silmaril from Margoth's crown. The next assignment is full of bad luck and death. Beren's company is captured by Sauron, Margoth's lieutenant, who tortures them for information and executes them for fun. Beren later becomes a prisoner of Margoth himself, who makes him a humble slave. Both times Luthien comes to his aid.

With her help, Beren obtains the Silmaril, but the victory is short-lived. Margoth's wolf, Carharoth, swallows both the jewel and the hero's hand. His next attempt to kill the beast results in its death. Beren just can't seem to win. At least this tale has a happy ending. Luthien gives up his own life and convinces the gods to give her and Beren a second chance. The two lovers then live in the world, but instead of enjoying an eternal elven existence, they eventually die as mortals.

6 Maedros

Heroic efforts, but all in vain

• Appears in: The Silmarillion, Unfinished tales, Children of Hurin

Although he is the eldest son of a famous elven house, Maedros is practically defined by failure. He was initially opposed to his father's quest to retrieve the Silmarils, but a family oath binds him to the cause. This also leads to his capture by Margot. The Dark Lord then chains him to a mountain as proof of his triumph.

Maedras' friend, Fingon, comes to his aid, but the unbreakable chains mean he must cut off his pal's hand. After such an ordeal, Maedras does what is best for his people and mends the rift between them. He even won several military victories.

Unfortunately, the Silmarils and the oath return to darken his life. When he hears of Beren and Lúthien's exploits, he believes that Margot is vulnerable and unites the Elven houses in rebellion. It fails and scatters those houses. Maedras later learns that the Silmaril of Beren and Lúthien is now in Doriath. His allies convince him to lead two attacks as part of the recovery effort, one against the kingdom itself and the other against the survivors' camp, both of which result in more bloodshed.

Having lost almost everything, Maedhros and his remaining brother attempt to steal the jewels in the dead of night. They finally succeed, but just touching the prize burns their hands. They are no longer worthy of the magical light within. All of Maedhros' sacrifices are in vain. Desperate, he throws himself into a pit of fire and takes the Silmaril with him.

5 Gandalf

Olorin feared the dangers of Middle-earth

• Appeared in: The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings Trilogy, The Unfinished Tales.

He started as Olorina major of Valinor, and he served Manwe, one of the chieftains of the Val. Unlike some of the other Maia, he was not enthusiastic about traveling to Middle-earth to fight Sauron, believing him to be too weak to contribute significantly to the conflict.

Manwe referred to his wisdom and humility as strengths, not weaknesses, and walked around Middle-earth as an old man who also happened to be a powerful wizard. His journeys were marked by suffering and hardship, beginning in the early days when he was the last of the Maiar to arrive in the Third Age and immediately became the bearer of Naria, the Ring of Power, a heavy burden by any standards.

Of all the places he traveled and the people he met, the most mysterious and fascinating was the Shire and the hobbits who lived there. Gandalf the last and most profound test was Frodo's preparation for the journey and personal struggle with Sauron and his minions on the battlefield.

4 Frodo

Loneliness of the ring bearer

• Appears in: The Lord of the Rings trilogy

Frodo is one of the most famous hobbits in history, but he doesn't set out to be one. This humble hero inherits the one ring after his uncle Bilbo stumbles upon it The Hobbit. Said Ring is Sauron's legendary weapon and thus the most dangerous object in the world. Possession of it brings untold suffering.

As a result, Frodo's quest to destroy him is full of difficulties. Everyone expects him to save Middle-earth. This pressure would be crushing for any human being, but it is made worse by the facility itself. The Ring's influence is constantly eating away at him, tempting him to greed and getting harder every day. Because of this corrupt government, few can truly help him carry the burden. This leaves him terribly isolated. Also, he's open to just about any physical danger in Middle-earth, from orcs to trolls and ghosts to giant spiders.

3 Hurin

A tragic story from the distant past

• Appears in:The Silmarillion, Children of Hurin, War of the Gems, Unfinished Tales

Hurin begins as a gallant First Age Man. To save his friend Turgon, he and his army hold off Margoth's forces. The battle continues until he is the last man standing, after which he is captured. The Dark Lord has his Balrogs torture the prisoner for information before trapping him atop a mountain.

The villain also grants him far vision, allowing him to watch from afar as orcs and other monsters ravage the land. In particular, he must witness the death of his equally valiant son Turin. After that, Margot releases Hurin. You'd think his condition is improving, but it's all part of his captor's twisted scheme.

The Dark Lord only released Hurin to reap further corruption on himself and his allies. The first tragedy occurs when the hero meets his wife at the graves of their children. Immediately afterwards, she dies, which sends him into a deep depression. He tries to reach Turgon in Gandolin, but his former friend thinks it's a ruse and rejects him. However, Hurin's attempt inadvertently betrays Gandolin's location to Margoth's spies.

From here, Hurin's path only gets darker. Soon he renounces all ideas of companionship and goodwill. Forming an unscrupulous outlaw group, he attacks Dariat to retrieve the treasure within. Only after the bloodshed does he realize his folly. In penance, he presents Thingal with a sacred necklace, but this only fuels the king's greed and causes others to attack the city. By weakening the Free People, Hurin unwittingly does Margot's work for him.

2 Eowyn

Life in a cage

• Appears in:The Two Towers, The Return of the King

Her brother Éomer had only been exiled, and in retrospect, Eowyn fate could have been even worse. She is confined to a dark and lonely existence, her closest relatives either dead, absent, or otherwise incapacitated, leaving her all alone except for her elderly uncle and his wily advisor, aptly named Wormtongue.

No wonder she fell so hard for Aragorn when he first appeared. He was a man of action and may have represented her way out of Meduseld's quiet hall, but in the end he also breaks her heart, and that's when she decides to ride as a warrior to battle on the Pelennor Fields. She has no intention of returning, thinking that death is better than returning to life in a noble hall, and she almost gets her wish when Nazgul mortally wounds her.

1 Gollum

His whole life was a sad story

• Appears in: The Hobbit, LotR Trilogy

For all of Frodo's problems with the Ring, his trial is child's play in comparison Gollum. A cursed group comes to him after two millennia of hibernation, instantly ensnaring him in their web of temptation. This temptation leads him to kill his cousin in a possessive rage. After him, the village kicks him out. Alone in the wild with only the Ring, he decays both physically and mentally. He even develops a second, oppressive personality to deal with the mess.

Gollum's condition worsens when he hides in the Misty Mountains, where he spends the next five hundred years in a dank cave. Having Bilbo find and take the evil ornaments should ease that pain, but unfortunately Gollum's suffering progresses from here. His ravenous need for the Ring can never be satisfied. This is the worst kind of addiction recovery without sobriety. His deteriorated condition arouses disgust and distrust in everyone he meets.